Since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, humans have not set foot on the moon. However, in recent years, with the advancement of space exploration technology, countries have restarted their lunar landing programs, hoping to achieve new breakthroughs and discoveries on the moon. Among them, the United States and China are two of the most high-profile countries, and their moon landing programs have also become the focus of global attention.
The U.S. announced the Artemis program in 2017, which includes a mission to re-land humans on the moon in 2024 and establish a permanent lunar base in 2028. With the goal of never letting Chinese get to the moon first, NASA has invested huge sums of money and cooperated with private companies to develop a new generation of rockets and lunar landers. Among them, the Peregrine Falcon lunar lander is a key link in the U.S. lunar landing program, which will carry two astronauts on a historic mission to the moon.
However, in the early morning of January 8, 2024, after the United States sent the "Vulcan Centaur" rocket into space as planned, less than 24 hours later, bad news came from ahead. After the Peregrine falcon separated from the rocket, it malfunctioned, and its solar panels did not work properly, causing it to not get enough energy to continue its mission to the moon.
This news hit the United States so hard that it had to directly announce the cancellation of the lunar mission and direct the Peregrine Falcon to a safe orbit.
This event had a huge impact on the U.S. lunar program. On January 9, NASA held an emergency press conference, NASA said that due to the failure of the "Peregrine Falcon", which will lead to the delay of the lunar landing program, the "return to the moon" program will be postponed for about 2 years, and these two years may change the pattern of space exploration.
Why is it that after 52 years, the United States will not be able to land on the moon? The reasons are very complex.
First, the U.S. moon landing program lacks sufficient funds and resources. The U.S. "Artemis" program will cost a huge amount of money, and it is estimated that the 2024 moon mission alone will cost $28 billion. However, the financial situation of the United States is not optimistic, and it is facing huge deficits and debts, and the United States, which is in debt, really cannot afford such a huge project as the moon landing. Although the United States is trying to reduce costs and risks by cooperating with the private sector, this also brings more uncertainty and complexity, and how to reconcile the interests and responsibilities of all parties is also a difficult problem.
Second, the U.S. moon landing program, which lacks innovation and breakthroughs. Although the United States has developed a new generation of rockets and lunar landers, it has not actually had many new ideas and improvements, but has only made some adjustments and optimizations on the basis of the original technology. U.S. rockets still use traditional liquid fuels instead of more advanced solid fuels or nuclear power. The U.S. lunar lander still uses the traditional soft landing method, rather than the more agile jumping or gliding method. The U.S. lunar landing program did not involve the far side of the moon or the polar regions of the moon, but only repeated the previous landing areas. The US lunar landing program lacks exploration and challenges in new technologies and new fields, and it is difficult to produce new breakthroughs and discoveries.
Third, the U.S. moon landing program lacks clear goals and directions. The U.S. moon landing program seems to be only to recreate the glory of the past and maintain its current position, or rather, just to prevent China from surpassing it. The U.S. moon landing program did not raise specific scientific questions and explore themes, nor did it have a clear long-term plan and vision. The U.S. moon landing program lacks genuine interest and enthusiasm for the moon, and it is difficult to inspire people's support and participation.
Fourth, the U.S. moon landing program lacks effective cooperation and sharing. The U.S. moon landing program is unwilling to communicate and collaborate effectively with other countries and organizations, nor is it willing to share its data and results with the world. The U.S. moon landing program is isolated and selfish, but also arrogant and domineering. The U.S. moon landing program does not respect international law and conventions, nor does it respect the rights and wishes of other countries. The US moon landing program not only failed to win the respect and trust of the whole world, but on the contrary aroused global resentment and resistance.
And the failure of the US mission to the moon once again makes people wonder whether they successfully landed on the moon more than 50 years ago.
While the U.S. lunar program suffered setbacks, China's lunar program is steadily advancing. In recent years, China has carried out the Chang'e-4 and Chang'e-5 missions, achieving soft landings and sample returns on the far side of the moon and the front side of the moon respectively, creating a number of world firsts. Now the fourth phase of China's lunar exploration program, the Chang'e-6 mission, has also entered the intensive preparation stage.
At the same time as the United States announced the postponement of the moon landing, the China National Space Administration reported that Chang'e-6 was ready and planned to be launched in the first half of this year, and this time it will once again automatically sample and return to the far side of the moon. Little is known about the far side of the Moon, which is older than the front side of the Moon and has higher scientific value. The pre-selected landing area for the Chang'e-6 mission is located in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the Moon, which is a huge impact crater that may contain lunar material from different geological periods, which is of great significance for revealing the formation and evolution history of the Moon.
China's moon landing program is in stark contrast to the U.S. moon landing program. I believe that in the near future, China's national flag will fly on the moon again!
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